Abstract (eng)
The first chapter analyses Corporate Crime which is rising worldwide today. Spectacular media reports on Corporate Crime and the public prosecution of its criminal punishment increase the pressure on both the company and the legal authorities. Complex legal regulations and financial aspects contribute to ever-growing corporate complexity. Ensuring legal compliance is rapidly becoming important to prevent effectively Corporate Crime. The dogmatic approach of Corporate Crime was first researched in the US by Edwin Sutherland. The master thesis deals in particular with the criminal sanctions possibilities against Corporate Crime from a German and American perspective. It describes, inter alia, in detail the German Act on Regulatory Offences (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz, OWiG) which allows the imposition of fines for misconduct against companies. In this context, further the US Sentencing Guidelines are described which contain complex regulatory mechanisms. Finally, the "Dieselgate" of Volkswagen AG is analysed from a comparative German and American legal perspective. The second chapter focuses on the corporate internal investigation which can have a mitigating effect for the company in the event of possible sanctions. In particular, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) must be taken into account, in the case of its applicability, when collecting, analyzing and transferring personal data to (third) countries (i.e. outside of the EU) within the scope of the internal investigation. Finally, various legal problems that may arise in the case of cross-border internal investigations are highlighted.